The data: GLP-1 use is on an up-and-to-the-right trajectory, even as high cost of the medications leads to significant churn rates.

• Roughly 16 million US consumers currently take GLP-1 medications, nearly triple the number in 2022, per Boston Consulting Group.
• BCG projects that number will reach up to 35 million by 2030.

That growth represents a clear opportunity for apparel brands as more consumers refresh their wardrobes—and trade up in the process. Forty-eight percent of GLP-1 users are buying more premium or expensive clothes, per a November 2025 survey by The New Consumer and Coefficient Capital.

Zooming in: GLP-1 use is creating a wardrobe-refresh cycle that spans multiple categories. Active GLP-1 users expect to increase spending by 19% on casual clothing, 15% on footwear, and 10% on active and leisurewear, per BCG.

That demand could represent a meaningful growth opportunity as adoption expands. Some 44% of GLP-1 users replacing clothes because of weight loss expect to spend more on apparel over the next year, per Tinuiti. As more consumers use GLP-1s, more may find themselves with a built-in reason to refresh their wardrobes.

What this means: As GLP-1 adoption rises, demand for some plus-size apparel appears to be softening. Dedicated plus-size retailers like Torrid and Destination XL have already reported sales declines as customers cycle through sizes and delay purchases until their weight stabilizes.

Retailers are responding by adjusting their assortments.

• H&M, for example, removed 3XL and 4XL from its US women’s assortment online in response to what it described as waning demand, per Bloomberg Businessweek.
• Aritzia, Mango, and Zara have also reduced the number of larger-size items they carry, per Edited data cited in the same article.

Implications for retailers and brands: In the face of these changes, retailers risk overcorrecting.

Even though the obesity rate has fallen from its 39.9% peak in 2022, it was still 37.0% last year, per Gallup. There is still substantial demand for larger sizes, and cutting assortments too aggressively could alienate customers and leave sales on the table.

That makes retailers’ own data critical to getting the balance right.

Size-level sell-through and customer data can reveal where demand is actually shifting and where new opportunities are emerging. Consumers moving through sizes, for example, may favor lower-priced apparel while their weight is changing and delay more expensive purchases until it stabilizes.

Retailers that account for that journey may be able to capture the wardrobe-refresh opportunity without abandoning customers who still need larger sizes.